Lonely Road
by kilala2tail
Summary: "The rain wasn't stopping. For days, it had been coming down. The weather report said it would let up by the evening, but no-one believed that. It had been saying the same thing for the past week. " It's funny what a little loneliness can do to a person. One-shot.


**Characters: Tsuna, Reborn, Yamamoto, Gokudera**

**Word Count: 2,288**

**Warnings: None**

**A/N: Alright... I hope I'm not going to regret this... Umm... Well. There's not much for me to say, really. I've had that song stuck in my head on and off for the last two weeks, and a sudden hit of loneliness (as stupid as it is) had me typing. (If for some reason that line isn't enough and you wanna know the song, my hint is Green Day.) I hope it's worth it... (Seeing as I haven't started a five-page paper that's due in less than two days.) I'm really sorry if they seem a bit out of character. I'd love some reviews, since I have zero confidence in my writing. Love it, hate it, think it needs work? Please, tell me why. **

**And thank you, my dearest "mother" from the FFN KHR Community on Facebook. To one shinee2007, I love you~!**

**Thank you for time. **

**Disclaimer: ...Ya know, I'm still not sure why these seem to be needed. But better safe than sorry, I suppose. I do not own anything but the story itself. Thank you.**

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"I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known…. Don't know where it goes, but its home to me and I walk alone…."

The rain wasn't stopping. For days, it had been coming down. The weather report said it would let up by the evening, but no-one believed that. It had been saying the same thing for the past week.

Sitting alone in the rain was a boy. He was no older than sixteen, with brown eyes and brown hair highlighting his pale face. He sat under an old cherry tree, leaning against the trunk with his eyes shut. The flowers of the tree were at the end of their season, bright green leafs taking the place of the pale pink that now covered the ground. The tree did not offer much in the way of protection from the rain, but that was alright. The teen wasn't really looking to stay dry anyway, or he would have sat on one of the covered benches in the park.

Lines of an American song he had heard on the internet were playing in the teen's head as he sat there. He didn't know how long it had been, or how many times the song had now repeated. He just kept humming it as he felt the rain running down his face. The sky was dark, from both the clouds and the time. Vaguely, the teen wondered if he should be getting up to go home soon. But still the song played, and the feelings that came with it kept him from moving.

Was he really alone? It felt like it had been years since the last time he didn't have people crushing around him, years since he had some time to himself. And in a way it had been. Since the day the infant with the yellow pacifier came… Yet the years of constant loneliness he had lived through beforehand would not leave that easily. Sometimes, he still felt like an outsider looking in. Sometimes, it just felt like they didn't trust him, leaving him with vague goodbyes as they went about their days. Like he really didn't belong, and that the ones he had grown to love as family would leave him. With a sigh, he slumped farther against the tree. If that happened, he didn't know what he would do.

Watching from afar, the baby sitting in another tree was frowning. His student had been sitting there for a couple of hours now and had yet to move. What was going on in that head? Reborn had allowed the boy time to himself, sensing something was off with the child. What had caused this sudden bout of depression? Though the one in the tree already had an idea. Stupid boy, worrying over such things again just because his friends had been busy lately.

Suddenly Reborn looked towards the entrance of the park. There two boys, the same age as the one under the tree, were walking together with worried looks. They glanced at each other before nodding and splitting off. The boy with silver hair and green eyes took the right path, while the one with black hair and brown eyes followed the left. The infant smiled at this, proud the two were working together to find their friend. The knowledge that his student would no longer be alone allowed him to hop from the tree and start walking towards home. Better tell Maman to get some soup and extra futons ready.

"Tsuna! Gokudera, he's over here!" A worried voice rushed toward him. It was one that he would know anywhere. He felt his body move as hands grabbed his shoulders to shake him gently. "Tsuna, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?" Slowly, the boy complied. A relieved sigh came from the person in front of him. "Oh, thank god. Tsuna, are you alright?" All the teen could do was nod, wondering when Yamamoto had gotten there and why he was so wet. Soon Gokudera entered his vision as well, an extremely upset look gracing his face.

"Tenth!" the boy with silver hair called out as he ran over. Really, just what had his boss been thinking? Shaking his head, he looked over the soaked boy with a scowl on his face. "Do you have any idea what time it is? We've been searching for you all over town!" Anger and worry laced every word and he helped Yamamoto pull Tsuna to his feet. When the brunette stumbled, he was caught by two pairs of strong hands.

At this, warm brown eyes turned to study the ones holding him up. A look of confusion crossed Tsuna's face as he looked at them. Why were Gokudera and Yamamoto here? It was a Sunday. They didn't have class, and they had made no plans. The last couple of weeks both boys had been rather busy. They had trying to spend as much time with their friend as they could, but that time had still been very little. How would they have even known he wasn't at home?

The three of them began walking, heading for Tsuna's house. The walk was silent, Tsuna trying to figure out why his friends had been looking for him and said friends trying to figure out what was wrong with the boy between them.

Finally, it grew to be too much. Yamamoto turned and asked the question he had wanted to ask the moment he saw Tsuna sitting on the ground. "Tsuna, what's wrong? It's not like you to just disappear. We were so worried when we stopped at the house and were told you hadn't been home all day. Do you know how scared I was, to see you soaked and just sitting there with your eyes closed? How much Gokudera had been freaking out?"

Tsuna looked between his two friends. "W-what do you mean? There's nothing wrong. Reborn gave me the day off, so I went for a walk. That's all." He couldn't… He wouldn't tell them what he had been thinking about.

Gokudera looked at his boss and sighed through his nose. "Tenth… You're soaked to the bone. I wouldn't be surprised if you're running a high fever come morning. You haven't been home all day, skipping breakfast and missing lunch. You've been extremely quiet since we found you in the park, a distant look on your face. It's more than clear something is wrong. Please, don't push us away. Haven't we been through enough together to have earned your trust by now?" Guilt for playing that card flashed through green eyes before being replaced with worry for the youngest in the group.

Tsuna flinched when he heard his friend's words. Of course they deserved better… Tsuna stopped walking. He took a deep breath, hoping to get everything out in one go. "It's… I don't want to burden you with stupid things. Where is the point in that? If I told you I was lonely, all it would do would be to make you feel guilty. If I told you I felt I was slowly being forgotten, nothing would come of it. So isn't it better to keep it to myself? It's nothing I can't deal with. I don't have the right to demand your time because I'm feeling like my self-esteem went into hiding." Finishing, he closed his eyes. Beside him, the other two stood still.

Yamamoto and Gokudera looked at the small teen between them, then turned to look at each-other. How long had their friend been feeling like this? Had it really been so long since they had spent time with him? Looking once again at the boy in the middle, they paid close attention to him. He was shaking, though from the cold or an attempt not to cry they did not know. He looked slightly thinner, didn't he? And there were circles under his eyes, pale as they might be.

Yamamoto reached towards the boy, grabbing his left hand. Gokudera did the same with his right. Without saying anything, they continued walking. Tsuna looked up quickly, unsure of what they were doing. The boys just continued the walk to the house. For the rest of the trip, all three were silent.

Within a few minutes the house was in sight. Walking through the door, both Yamamoto and Gokudera called out "Pardon us for intruding." Nana smiled in the kitchen, where she was busy working on the night's dinner. She stopped for a moment and poked her head out into the hallway. "Feel free to use the shower. I know all three of you must be freezing. You boys know where the supplies are." With that, she went back to her stew.

The silence continued as the three cycled through the shower. Nana brought supper upstairs to them, the smell of hot beef stew and fresh bread hitting them before she even walked into the room. It wasn't surprising that in the bedroom two extra futons were waiting to be set out. As the night went on, none of the teens said anything. They got ready for bed peacefully, as the children were all at a birthday party with Haru and Kyoko and weren't coming back until the next day.

With everything ready, Tsuna turned off the light and sat on the bed. His two best friends were sitting on the ground, not ready to call it a night just yet. There were still things that needed to be settled between the three of them. While Tsuna seemed to think it was alright to take everything upon himself, the left and right hand of the Vongola Decimo did not see it the same way. It was Gokudera that finally broke the silence of the room. "Tenth… What you said earlier… Did we really make you feel that way? Why didn't you tell us?"

Brown eyes slid shut and the boy brought his knees to his chest. "It's like I said before. What good would come of it? You both have your own lives to deal with. Why should I bother you with my silly problems?" He leaned forward to rest his head on his knees, sighing. Really, it was nothing new to feel this way. So why be a bother about it?

The bed creaked under the weight of two new bodies as Gokudera and Yamamoto climbed off the floor. Tsuna's eyes flew open when he felt two pairs of arms encase him. "What…?"

"Tsuna, don't ever keep something like this to yourself," Yamamoto stated as he looked down with a frown.

"Sword-freak is right, Tenth. Please don't ever feel like you can't come to us. What kind of right-hand man would I be if you can't tell me something like this? What kind of _friend_ would I be?"

Tsuna didn't know what to think. He didn't say anything, instead choosing to put an arm around each of his friends and pulling them close. A tear slide down his face silently, soon followed by another. He really was an idiot, just like Reborn always said. He chuckled as tears continued to fall, enjoying the warmth around him. _I never learn_, he thought with a smile.

Every time he felt this way, they would come to him as though he had called them. And he did. His heart would cry out, and theirs would respond in turn. It never took long for them to find him, to sooth the ache. And for this, Tsuna was grateful. He permitted himself the much need release, quietly crying into the darkness.

During this time, Yamamoto and Gokudera moved so the three of them were lying down. Gokudera pulled a blanket off the ground to cover them, and the two made themselves as comfortable as they could while still keeping a hold of their friend. They didn't say a word, only giving silent comfort.

"Thank you," Tsuna whispered as the tears stopped. "Thank you, for always coming when I'm alone. Thank you for always being here when I need you. Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for being my friends. I love you both so much. Thank you for letting me."

Later, he would wonder where Reborn was during this episode. Later, he would realize that his tutor always seemed to disappear times like these, whenever Tsuna needed his friends and not his father-figure. Later, he would feel embarrassed for putting said friends through such a mess, _again_, and apologize profusely when he realizes not only does he have a fever but the two that stayed with him all night do also. Later, Yamamoto would laugh it off while Gokudera would be quick to reassure that it was alright and they'd be more than willing to help when they were needed and the baseball-idiot should _stop laughing it isn't funny _while Tsuna just smiled softly. Later, Reborn would shake his head at the sight with a smile of his own hidden in the shadows. Later, all their other friends would stop by and try to help the boys feel better in their own ways, causing chaos and screaming and laughter and warmth.

But that would be later. For now, both teens smiled softly at the one between them. For now, Yamamoto whispered "We love you too, Tsuna" into the ear of his savior. For now, Gokudera pushed a strain of hair off the face of his boss and muttered "We'll always be here" to the teen who was his Sky. For now, the three brothers would gather close and fall asleep. For now, the nightmares would be chased off.

For now, the song that started it would finally stop playing in Tsuna's head.


End file.
